U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 describes in detail a connector receptacle, commonly referred to as a modular jack, of a type which is intended for use in the telephone industry. The receptacle described in this patent comprises an insulating housing having a plug-receiving end and a plug-receiving opening extending into the plug-receiving end. A plurality of circular openings extend through the housing from the plug-receiving end to the rearward end of the housing and contact springs extending from these circular openings diagonally into the plug-receiving opening so that when a plug is inserted into the receptacle, the contact members on the plug will engage the contact springs. The contact springs are in the form of wires and are connected by means of crimped electrical connections to lead wires. These crimped connections are contained in the circular openings in the housing and the lead wires extend from the circular openings and away from the housing at the rearward end thereof. THe commonly used type of connector plug which is intended to be mated with connector receptacles of the type described above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,654 is representative of a later generation of modular jacks having stamped and formed conductors, rather than drawn wire conductors. The use of stamped and formed conductors in modular jacks offers several advantages; for example, when gold plating is required on the conductors, the gold can be plated only on the contact area of each conductor by well-known plating techniques, whereas, wire conductors must be plated over their entire lengths. By virtue of this fact, very substantial savings in plating costs are realized in the use of stamped and formed conductors rather than wire conductors. Additionally stamped and formed sheet metal conductors provide more contact area for engagement with a complementary modular plug and stamped conductors can be assembled to the receptacle housing more easily than can drawn wire conductors. A variety of types of modular jacks are available having stamped and formed conductors therein, in addition to the type shown in the above identified U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,654.
The available modular jacks which are provided within stamped and formed conductors are all intended for direct mounting on a circuit board and accordingly, they have post portions which extend beyond the jack housing and which are intended for reception in circuit board holes so that they can be soldered to conductors on the circuit board. It would be desirable, however, to have available a modular jack-type receptacle which can be used with insulated wires such that insulated wires can be connected to the conductors of the receptacle as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,495. While it is known to provide wire-receiving plate means on conductors in an electrical receptacle, it has not been practical heretofor to provide wire-connecting means on modular jack-type receptacles for a variety of reasons. Modular jacks are relatively small and space considerations alone present substantial problems. Further more, when wires are inserted into the wire-receiving portions of conductors or terminals in a connector housing, a substantial compressive force may be imposed on the housing as the result of the wire-receiving operation and modular jack-type housings could be damaged by the imposition of such forces.
In accordance with the present invention, a modular jack type receptacle is provided which is capable of having its conductors connected directly to individual insulated wires without the necessity of using crimped connections between the jack conductors and the insulated wires as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497. The modular jack, in accordance with the invention, has an integral ledge extending beyond one of the external sidewalls of the jack housing and overhanging the rearward end of the jack housng. A plurality of open top stalls are provided on this ledge and the conductors have wire-receiving portions contained in these stalls. Wires are connected to the individual conductors of the receptacle by aligning a wire with each stall and moving the wires into the stalls and into the conductor-receiving portions of the terminals. During such movement of the wires, the receptacle housing is supported on an anvil which has a support surface extending beneath the ledge so that the forces imposed during the insertion operation are transmitted to the anvil and are not borne by critical portions of the receptacle housing.